This is how a hero awakens! Exclusive interview with Shunsuke Sakino, star of the Japanese dubbed version of "Journey to the West: A Hero is Back! Anime Industry Watching Vol. 45

The Chinese CG animated film " Journey to the West: Hero is Back, " released this January 2018, will be released on Blu-ray & DVD on Wednesday, May 9. If you are thinking, "Journey to the West is about a trip to Jersey, isn't it? This movie is not the Journey to the West as we know it. It is a completely different story. It is a humanistic and austere drama about a rampaging monkey in the heavenly realm, the Great Sage Qi Tian Sage (Sun Wukong), who is now middle-aged and is asked for help by a boy he happens to know, but who is suffering from a lack of the power he had when he was younger.
For the Japanese dubbed version, Goro Miyazaki, director of the TV animation " Ronja, the Bandit's Daughter," supervised the dubbing, and Ryoichi Uchikoshi, director of "RWBY," was the ideal team for the production. The voice of Saiten Daisho, a middle-aged hero who is actually strong but unable to reach his peak strength, was played by Shunsuke Sakino, a veteran voice actor who has dubbed many Western movies and TV dramas. How did he create the image of the lone hero loved by some of his devoted fans, who even called him "Sakino Daisho"?

The Great Sage Equals the Director's Passion

─ ─ I think you first saw "Journey to the West: A Hero is Back" in its original language, of course.

Sakino: When I first saw the film, I was first of all impressed by the tremendous passion of the director Tian Xiaopeng and his staff. When I looked up articles on the Internet, I found that the directors spent years making the film, fighting against the establishment as they went along, and I was convinced that this stance gave the film its power. I wondered how much I could respond to the passion of this film .......

─ So you had already decided to play the main character, the Great Sage Qi Tian Daishao, when you saw the original version of the film, right?

Sakino: That's right. There was no audition. （I was told later that Goro Miyazaki (dubbing supervisor) told me what he had in mind, and Ryoichi Uchikoshi (director) submitted several voice samples, from which Goro chose me to play the role.

─ What was the most difficult part of your performance?

Sakino: I think it was the shouting. He screams so much that it puts a lot of strain on my throat. A good voice actor would probably be able to practice at home in moderation before going into the show, but when I rehearsed at home, I would scream as if I were in the show. So it may have been a nuisance to my neighbors, but the day before the recording, I rehearsed loudly and when I woke up in the morning at ......, I already had a feeling of discomfort in my throat.
In the beginning of the scene where the Great Sage Saiten fights the gods in the heavenly realm, he is still young and energetic. He is still young and energetic, so I had to work the hardest on my voice. After the lunch break, his throat would get cold, and he would lose his voice in the afternoon. ...... On the first day of recording, all the other cast members were there, so I asked them to let me finish. There is a huge scream in the last scene, but my throat was already shattered, so I re-recorded the scene I was not satisfied with on the second day.


─ Was it really that difficult?

Sakino: I heard that the voice actor for the original version took three days to record the voice: ...... In other words, the role of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven must have carried the enthusiasm of the director. In other words, the role of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven carries the enthusiasm of the director. But the role of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven does not allow that. In the scenes where he falls from a high place or is slammed against a rock, I had to shout as if my life was in danger, or I wouldn't be satisfied.